Renaissance Art by Geraldine A. Johnson

Author:Geraldine A. Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781402782275
Publisher: Sterling
Published: 2010-11-08T16:00:00+00:00

Conclusion

The skull in The Ambassadors served as a visual testament to both Holbein’s skill as an artist and his sitters’ rather morbid fascination with death at a time of general religious and political unease. Although from his letters, we know that Dinteville was quite depressed at having to stay away from his beloved Polisy for so long when he commissioned the painting, we should not see the image merely as the product of a gloomy expat’s highly personal preoccupations. Rather, the positive scientific possibilities alluded to by the measuring instruments found especially on the top shelf, together with the tiny sculpted crucifix that is just visible at the top left corner of the composition, as if peeping out from behind the green silk curtained backdrop, are elements of hope—in the former case, hope that mankind’s ability to be logical and rational might yet resolve the problems of this world, and in the other, that faith in the one true God might one day lead to salvation in the next. However, these exceptional “Renaissance men,” like the exceptional artist who painted this portrait commemorating their friendship, as well as their hopes and fears, could not know that the trials and tribulations of this world would only become much worse in the years to come.

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